Q&A

Wanted to answer a few questions that i've received from several different people. Here is a short video showing some answers to some common questions!!

The dome is ALMOST DONE!

Been awhile since I have had some real updates, so I am going to provide a picture heavy post here to thrill you all! To start with, the aluminum Holoprojectors are truly a work of art.....had I known they were THIS nice, i'd have bought them a long time ago. To start with, everyone says you need to JB weld the screws for the HPs in place so that you can install them. However, after playing around with the HPs, I realized I could fit the outer dome over two of them, so I didn't need to JB weld those......then, upon further examination, I realized I can simply insert the screws into a blank hole, and then secure the outer dome. This way, i'll have the screws in place, and they'll be loose so that I can arrange them to fit the cowls for the HPs. Then, when I went to install the HP cowls, I simply placed a washer/nut combo on the screw, hand screwed it in most of the way, then took a pair of pliers, held the SCREW with them, and then used a wrench to turn the nut and make it nice and tight. It worked flawlessly and I guarantee you these beauties aren't going anywhere. Next on the list was bonding the domes. I had decided that I was going to use a lighter VHB tape to hold all of the panels that I had required to eventually open. My thought process was that the tape would be easy to remove. However, when I actually installed this tape, because of it's thickness, it caused these panels to barely stick up above the surface. Because I have no immediate plans of making the panels open (because there are other priorities to finish with R2), I decided to go an alternative route. A call to my friend Victor yielded some great advice.....he suggested I use clear Silicon II from GE. I went and bought two tubes of this stuff (although only one was needed). I started with the blue ring along the bottom....I made sure it was nice and level, and then secured it with many clamps. Once it was dry, I did the outer dome. This was one of the most rewarding moments of the whole build, finally, two domes, became one. At this point, I slowly started to install the panels. It's not perfect, but it's very good for my first dome. I am going to present to you a lot of photos of the dome...you'll see that some panels are not yet installed, and you'll also see that some panels are still taped in and have not yet been converted to the silicon. As I type this, 3 more panels are drying!

All that's left to do this point is obtain my aluminum radar eye and this dome will be 100% complete~!

Small Update.

There hasn't been much activity as far as R2 goes lately. I recently received my aluminum logic surrounds and got them installed. It wasn't the best installation and it's even POSSIBLE that you'll see some screw-heads inbetween the gaps. We'll only know once it's time to fasten the two domes together. I have gotten notification that my aluminum Holoprojectors have shipped, so they should be arriving soon and then we'll have all the parts to the dome and be ready to finish. No photos this time, but trust me, you'll be impressed soon!

Painting the inner dome.

As strange as it may seem, apparently there is one panel that is silver on the outside, and BLUE on the inside, which means there is a small section of the inner dome that must be painted blue. I started this by tracing the panel, and then placing blue tape just outside of that line.

One it was done and I was certain that the dome was protected, I used some dupli-color self-etching primer.

Next, I proceeded to put 3 coats on the inner dome, and clear coat it, then I allowed it to cure overnight. The next morning, I started to remove the tape.

And finally, we are able to see a perfect "panel" on the inner dome.

In other news, I also touched up my Large Data Port (LDP)because it had some chipped paint (due to my carelessness!). I still have several parts on the way, including aluminum holoprojectors and aluminum logic surrounds. The last piece I need to acquire is an aluminum radar eye. Forunately, I have a friend who is holding one for me and I just need to transfer the funds and my dome will be 100% done!!

Video of progress!!

I shot a small video showing the progress of R2! You get to see a lot of cool parts and you get a small update (via video) of the things to come!! Enjoy. R2D2 Progress Report!

JAG SKIRT!!!

Today, I received my JAG Skirt. I wasted NO time pulling it out of the box to see it. This is a part I have been so excited about getting that I could barely contain my excitment when the doorbell rang! Quickly, I opened the box to reveal this beauty!!

First, I set up a table and laid out all the parts.

I had to get it painted. Today was a fairly decent day to paint due to the lower humidity. I quickly got it primed with self etching primer!

I did three lighter coats, and allowed about 2 hours worth of drying in between each one. I allowed the extra time because of the humidity. While it is still higher, it was lower today which allowed me the opportunity to paint. After the three coats, I did a wet sand, and then applied the fourth and final coat. I will be honest, of all the painting I have done, this one looks FLAWLESS!! I am very happy.

I will let it sit for about 12-15 hours before I place the clear coat on because I want to ensure the paint is fully dried before it's coated! In other news, my Teece's kit is coming along nicely. I had a hiccup yesterday when my front logics wouldn't work. Only half of the lights would come on.....I spent 5 hours trying to solve the problem, and I consulted many people including Mark, Don, and Mike. Eventually.....and almost sadly, it turns out I simply had the chip in backwards. It's ironic, since the how-to video specifically states to ensure the chips are in correctly. Hopefully, sometime tomorrow I will have a video showing my lights in full working action!!

I've been workin' on the Teeces.

Okay, I received my Teece's kit the other day to start assembling all of the lights. All I can say is.....WOW. There are a LOT of parts to this kit. I purchased a wellner Soldering Iron, some solder that I would later realize was WAY to thick, and a few other accessories. To start with, I am on my SECOND soldering iron now. The wellner's tip was TOO thick (I have never soldered anything), so I later bought a $8.00 one at RadioShack that has a needle-like tip.....and this thing is perfect!! I also bought some new .022 solder that is working well. I stupidly forgot to buy a AA battery pack so that I could test it out, so first thing in the morning, that'll be on my "to-do" list..... Otherwise, after watching the tutorial videos about 3 times, I finally started to "get" it and make some progress. I got quite a bit done on my first evening (probably about 4 hours worth of work so far) and am excited to 'hope' it all works tomorrow when I turn it on to test! Here are a couple photos.

In other news, I received an email notification informing me that my JAG Skirt has been shipped and should be here on Thursday, so that is EXTREMELY exciting for me. With some luck, i'll have this kit done by Thursday and ready to tackle my new skirt.